BARCELONA: Rafael Nadal on Friday withdrew from next week’s Rome tournament, casting serious doubts over his fitness for the French Open as well as potential questions over the rest of his career.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner has not played since suffering a hip injury at the Australian Open in January.

In all, he has competed in just four matches in 2023, winning only once. The French Open, which the 36-year-old has won on a record 14 occasions, starts on May 28.

Nadal said his injury situation has improved in the past few days but not sufficiently to be able to compete next week in the Italian capital where he has been champion 10 times.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2023